


Space Fam and the Danvers Babies

by wizardofahz



Series: Parenting Adventures with Space Dad [3]
Category: Supergirl (TV 2015)
Genre: Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-02-05
Updated: 2017-06-24
Packaged: 2018-09-22 03:47:57
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 4,314
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/9581942
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/wizardofahz/pseuds/wizardofahz
Summary: The Danvers sisters may be de-aged, but that doesn't stop Alex from being protective of her little sister or their best alien dad.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> I was thinking about how loyal Alex and Kara are to their Space Dad, that reminded me of [this video](http://weloveshortvideos.tumblr.com/post/151574303801), and then this fic spiralled out of control. I can only apologize for the nonsense you’re about to read.

When J’onn’s birthday arrives, Lucy and Vasquez aren’t sure what to do. There’s already a party planned—it’s not a surprise party because Kara “Can’t Keep A Secret” Danvers is one of the organizers—but there’s just one small issue. Literally small.

Both Danvers have been de-aged.

Early that morning, they had raided a lab experimenting with metahuman powers. In the resulting chaos, an unknown device had exploded in the vicinity of both Danvers resulting in their current state. Their clothes and gear shrunk with them, which means Kara is still clad in her Supergirl outfit, and Alex is in her DEO uniform, complete with tiny tactical belt (though her tiny weapons are quickly removed).

They look  _ adorable _ .

Alex looks to be about three years old (later confirmed when Alex holds up three fingers and says a lispy, “free”—again, adorable) and Kara about a year and a half.

They’re both unconscious when they’re brought back to the DEO. J’onn hovers anxiously as Dr. Hamilton checks them over and visibly relaxes when she declares them perfectly healthy, their de-aging notwithstanding. He drapes a blanket around the Danvers children and tucks a lock of hair behind Kara’s ear.

Their age difference is perhaps why Alex wakes up about an hour before Kara does.

J’onn and Lucy gently question her to gauge what she remembers. Alex remembers nothing about the mission and barely anything about the DEO, but she knows who J’onn, Lucy, and Kara are. She isn’t at all concerned about her parents’ absence and seems perfectly content to accept J’onn as surrogate father figure. Alex also resumes her role as Kara’s guardian. In fact, it’s hard to hold her attention as she keeps looking over at her little sister worriedly. To distract her, Lucy suggests J’onn to take Alex to the cafeteria.

She regrets it the moment Kara wakes up. She really should’ve known that baby Kara wouldn’t remember how to control her powers.

When Kara wakes up, she probably has the fright of her life as her x-ray vision kicks in, revealing to her more of the human body than any baby wants to see, and her super hearing grants her access to every sound in the DEO and maybe even the whole city. Kara starts crying, slamming her eyes shut and trying to cover her ears. 

Lucy has never felt more sympathy for Kari, the babysitter in  _ The Incredibles _ , as Kara begins to float off the table. Sensing that something very strange is happening, Kara opens her eyes. The shock of finding herself hovering three feet above the bed results in a burst of heat vision, making Lucy grateful for her quick reflexes. Lucy tries to catch Kara, but Kara’s super speed, heat vision, freeze breath, and tiny but super strong flailing limbs make it a difficult task.

Kara ricochets around the room, eventually smashing through one of its walls, but thankfully J’onn, who is returning with Alex, flies up catch her. Equipped with his own set of powers, J’onn has an easier time handling Kara. Lucy intercepts Alex, who struggles against her, desperate to get to J’onn and Kara.   

The silver lining to Kara’s complete lack of control over her powers is that she quickly solar flares.

Back on solid ground, Kara sniffles and hiccups into J’onn’s shoulder as he bounces her, rubs her back, and whispers soothing Kryptonese phrases into her ear. This time when Alex tries to pull away, Lucy lets her. Alex grabs ahold of J’onn’s pant leg and gazes up at Kara with concern. 

“She’s okay,” J’onn reassures her.

He kneels, so Alex can see Kara better. Kara reaches out a hand to Alex, and J’onn readjusts accordingly. He turns Kara, sitting her on his knee. Alex promptly leans in to hug her baby sister. 

Lucy takes out her phone and snaps a picture.

 

* * *

 

She snaps many more pictures throughout the day. The Danvers kids spend most of their time with J’onn. He typically has one or both in his arms, but occasionally they trail after him like ducklings, Alex holding Kara’s hand to make sure she doesn’t fall behind. 

They also spend time with Lucy, Vasquez, and Winn. 

Winn uses his newly learned Kryptonese to entertain Kara. Vasquez gives Alex an ear piece and lets her push buttons or type commands when appropriate. Alex starts off standing on the chair next her—she’d be too short to see anything if she sat down—but in her enthusiasm, she eventually migrates over completely until she’s standing on Vasquez’s lap. Vasquez doesn’t seem to mind. She just wraps her left arm around Alex and leans right, so she can supervise what Alex is doing. Lucy takes Kara “flying,” lifting her and weaving intricate patterns into the air. Now that Kara is calm, she thoroughly enjoys the experience, giggling as her cape swooshes through the air behind her.

When Kara goes down for a nap, Alex insists she’s not a baby and doesn’t need one too. An incident pulls J’onn, Lucy, and Vasquez away, leaving Alex with Winn.

After the incident has been dealt with, Winn scuttles up to Lucy

“Lucy, you have to help me!” Winn pleads in a hushed voice as his eyes dart around warily. When she raises an eyebrow expectantly, he admits, “I can’t find Alex.”

“You lost Alex?” Lucy’s incredulity is equal parts threatening and alarmed.

“No! Not really,” Winn says quickly, hand gestures asking her to keep her voice down. “We’re playing hide-and-seek.”

Lucy pinches the bridge of her nose and then glares at him in lieu of grabbing him by the collar. “Hide-and-seek with  _ Alex Danvers _ in the  _ DEO _ ? What made you think that was a good idea?” 

“She wanted to! And she’s only three! I thought it’d be okay.” The look on Winn’s face clearly adds that he very much regrets that decision.

“I really should’ve known better than to leave her with you.” Lucy sighs. “Where have you looked?”

Winn rattles off a list of places. Lucy has him recheck them because, even though Alex is currently three, she wouldn’t put it past her to play strategically and move hiding spots every so often. She designates herself with the task of checking every unexpected nook and cranny a three-year-old could fit into. 

Eventually, she too has to concede defeat. Her concern for Alex’s well-being—what if something happened to her, and she’s genuinely missing—overrides the need to keep private the humiliation of being outsmarted by a three-year-old.

Lucy resolves to ask J’onn for help. He could probably find Alex easily with his psychic powers. Winn chickens out, which is just as well because the way he guilt blurts, he’d probably make things worse. 

But Lucy stops short when, upon entering J’onn’s office, she sees Alex on the cot napping beside Kara.

“Is something wrong?” J’onn asks.

“No,” Lucy says evenly. “I just wanted to check in on you and the kids.”

He stares at her for a bit as if he knows she’s lying, but all he says is, “We’re fine.”

When Lucy exits, she immediately bumps into Winn, who is waiting anxiously in the hallway. This time Lucy doesn’t restrain herself, grabbing his shirt and pushing him into the wall. 

“You didn’t think to check where Kara is?!”

“You didn’t either!”

“Because you said you checked all the obvious places!”

She leaves him with a slap to the back of the head.

 

* * *

 

That evening, they have the party.

Vasquez records as M’gann shoves cake in J’onn’s face. There’s laughter all around, but a furious shout rises above it.

“No!”

The rest of Alex’s screams are drowned out by Kara, who starts crying. 

J’onn picks Kara up to comfort her as Alex descends from her chair and runs, well toddles, winding around Winn and making a beeline for M’gann. Once she arrives at the sink where M’gann is washing her lands—still laughing—Alex smacks her leg then turns her attention to J’onn.

“You okay, Daddy?”

“Yeah,” J’onn reassures her. 

Off to the side, Lucy is doubled over with laughter, but Alex is still concerned. 

“You got the cake in your eye?” she asks, but J’onn’s attention is on Kara.

“She’s so scared. I think I should wash my face.”

The rest of the party goes on without incident. Less than two hours in, it’s not late for the adults, but the children are flagging. 

Kara demands cuddles, and Alex demands to be with Kara. J’onn lays Kara against his left shoulder where she promptly falls asleep. Alex sits on his right leg, settling so her legs run parallel to his abdomen and her back is supported by the arm he wraps around her. Tired, she leans her head and left shoulder against his torso. She reaches up to grab Kara’s hand, playing with her tiny fingers. 

After Alex falls asleep too, Vasquez approaches.

“Would you like me to take them to bed, so you can join the party, sir?”

J’onn fondly looks down at the Danvers kids and says, “No, that’s all right. Thank you, Vasquez.”

 

* * *

 

Twenty-four hours after the raid on the lab, Alex and Kara are returned to their normal size and age. J’onn is stuck in a conference call, leaving Lucy to debrief them. She shows them the pictures on her phone. Kara loves them. Alex is mortified. 

“We missed J’onn’s birthday,” Kara says sadly. “Did you guys have the party?”

“We did, and you definitely didn’t miss it,” Lucy says, looking entirely too happy for Alex’s comfort. 

“Uh oh… What happened?”

Lucy’s grin goes full blown Cheshire Cat. “You guys were the best. Look, I even have video.”

The Danvers sisters watch M’gann cake J’onn and their younger selves’ reactions. By the end of the video, Alex’s cheeks are beet red. 

“I called him Da—” she groans, final word muffling as she hides her face in her arms.

“At least you were kind of badass.” Kara tries to comfort her, rubbing her back. “All I did was cry.”

“Well to be fair you didn’t speak English,” Lucy explains. “I mean you were a baby, so you didn’t really speak Kryptonese either, but that was all you’d respond to. Crying was the only universal way you could show your disapproval.”

“I wish all I did was cry,” Alex says into her arms.

“Hey!” Winn says as he arrives. “It’s the adult Danvers!”

“Winn!” Alex straightens quickly, grabbing him desperately.

“Don’t even try, Danvers,” Lucy says, and Alex slumps into Winn’s shoulder. “I had a feeling you’d react like this, so I got to him first. If I ever so much as have trouble finding the video, he’ll make sure it gets everywhere.”

“All I want is for people to stop threatening me,” Winn says sadly before making his escape as Alex’s grip slackens.

Lucy taps her screen, taking the video back to the beginning. 

“If you listen carefully, you can hear Alex say, ‘Look at Daddy!’ in this part.”

“Oh my God.” Alex sinks her head back into her arms. “I’m never going to be able to look him in the eye again.”

 

* * *

 

A few busy weeks later, Alex thinks she’s gotten over the whole incident, but then everyone decides to go the alien bar to cut loose. 

M’gann grins at her as they enter and sit around a table. “Danvers! You finally came to apologize, huh?”

“What?” Alex looks at her blankly, clearly not on the same page.

“You know, because of that time you hit me in the leg,” M’gann says, pretending she was truly hurt by the experience. “I really didn’t deserve it, but there you were screaming and trying to hit me as hard as you could.”

Alex reddens as her brain catches up, putting puzzle pieces together to remind her of the cake incident from J’onn’s birthday.

Lucy high fives M’gann as Alex groans and sinks her head into her arms.

“I need a drink.”


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Since chapter 1 was more about space fam than space dad, here’s a chapter from J’onn’s POV.

Taking care of children is, as the humans put it, like riding a bike.

J’onn finds himself thinking of K’hym and T’ania as he takes care of the de-aged Danvers, falling back into routines he hasn’t thought about in hundreds of years. Not that the Danvers are replacements, far from it. To think of them that way would be a disservice to all four of them. Alex and Kara have carved their own unique places into his heart.

He would do anything for them.

At least that’s what he repeats in his head over and over as he steels himself against a mournful pout and betrayed puppy eyes.

“Kara, you already had half a packet of Chocos. Alex, depriving your sister of cookies won’t kill her. Stop looking at me like that,” J’onn says first in Kryptonese for Kara then in English for Alex.

He says everything in both languages, so that neither will feel lost or left out. 

After Kara had woken up and they’d gotten some food in her, J’onn had brought Alex and Kara to his office to avoid prying eyes. He’d given them some pens, highlighters, and paper for them to draw on. Even as a baby, Kara’s art skills are evident, and Alex attacks her piece with a foresight and precision that exceeds her age. When Kara had indicated she was peckish, J’onn had given them Chocos to snack on. 

He should’ve known it wouldn’t end well. 

When he decides they’ve had enough, Kara pouts terribly, and Alex gives him puppy eyes. He’s had plenty of experience to know that the adult version of this combination is dangerously powerful. Unsurprisingly the miniature versions are even more lethal. 

The way Alex’s wide puppy eyes bounce back and forth between him and Kara’s mournful pout makes him feel he’s murdering her little sister in front of her.

The DEO isn’t the safest place to keep children, but with such energetic, precocious children, sequestering Alex and Kara in his office for an extended period is not an option. Partly to distract them from their current Chocos predicament, J’onn decides it’s time to bring them out to see the others. 

He offers to carry them or hold their hands, but cookieless and disgruntled, they refuse.

They trail after him as he leads them to the bullpen. DEO agents stare at the trio, some more overtly than others, as they wind their way through the hallways. Alex eyes all of them warily, tightens her grip on Kara’s hand, and shortens the distance between them and J’onn. The Danvers’ familiarity and trust in him seems to override their resentment of his cookie-depriving tendencies. 

J’onn has a meeting later that he can’t reschedule, so he watches how the Danvers react to everyone to see if he’d feel comfortable leaving the kids in their care. Thankfully, Alex and Kara relax when they’re around Lucy, Vasquez, and Winn, and it’s not long before they are intrigued and distracted by the amount of new stimuli.

Satisfied with the situation, J’onn decides to check in on DEO matters. Most things are progressing smoothly. The only hiccup is a disagreement between some engineers and field agents who are trying to collaborate to develop a new weapon. Normally Alex would be playing mediator, but as that’s currently not an option, J’onn calls for the senior field agent. 

As Agent Gilbert rants to him about the situation, it sounds like the engineers and field agents aren’t even trying to talk and listen to each other. When J’onn tells him as much, Gilbert shakes his head and looks away slightly, as respectful a substitute for rolling his eyes as he can manage. He freezes when he spots something to J’onn’s left.

Following Gilbert’s eyeline, J’onn has to bite back a smile. Alex has her hands on her hips in a perfect imitation of his own stance. She looks up at Gilbert with the same stern appraisal that she would have as an adult senior agent. To Alex’s left is Kara, who is trying to match them but can’t quite seem to feel comfortable with it. She puts her hands on her hips, palms down and thumbs towards her back, then flips her hands so her thumbs are now facing forward. She curls her hands into tiny fists and bounces them on her hip a few times.

J’onn dismisses Gilbert with an order to talk to the engineers again. After he departs, J’onn kneels in front of Alex and Kara, and the latter babbles in her babyish Kryptonese. She seems to be asking if he’s okay.

He reassures Kara that he’s okay and has to grab Alex’s attention as she’s still staring suspiciously at Gilbert’s retreating back.

 

* * *

 

When the time comes for J’onn’s meeting, he keeps a psychic link open to Alex. He can’t connect to Kara, but he figures that’s okay. With the way Alex almost obsessively looks after Kara, being connected to Alex is like being connected to the both of them.

As General Lane drones on about the budget and dangerous aliens, J’onn does a mental check in with Alex. Lucy is teaching her how to sneak up on Winn. Alex is clearly thrilled, and judging by the smile on her face, Lucy is equally enthused. J’onn glances at General Lane once again and is grateful that Lucy is nothing like her father. 

J’onn feels Alex’s happiness swell when Kara giggles, amused by their antics. Alex grins but tries to shush Kara, so she won’t bring attention to what they’re doing. She struggles to find the right Kryptonese terms, but J’onn supplies them across their link. The unwilling victim, Winn shrieks when Alex pops up from under the table, grabbing him and shouting, “BOO!”

By the time J’onn gets out of the briefing, Lucy, Vasquez, and Winn are preoccupied with new intel, and the Danvers are with Dr. Hamilton. J’onn trusts that Lucy, Vasquez, and Winn can handle the intel, so he makes medical his first stop. He’s also not above admitting to himself that he misses the Danvers kids.

Kara is apparently even more excited to see him. She darts toward him, tiny boots slipping and sliding on the floor. He plucks her up before she can skid past him and holds her at arm's length. She doesn’t seem to have realized she’s off the ground, little legs and arms still swinging, or she doesn’t care. He’s inclined to believe the latter given the way her giggling has intensified.

J’onn greets Dr. Hamilton and looks around for Alex. 

He can’t see Alex’s face from this angle, but he doesn’t need to. He can see into her mind. A device in the corner has captured her attention, and what she’s contemplating is Not Good. It starts with dismantling the machine and somehow ends in an explosion. Alex hasn’t worked out all the details on how it’s going to happen, but J’onn doesn’t want her to.

“Alex, no.”

She jerks in surprise and turns to face him. 

“I didn’t do anything,” she says, but the innocent look on her face could use some work.

“Good. Let’s keep it that way.”

He quickly returns his attention to Dr. Hamilton. She doesn’t know exactly when the Danvers will return to their adult selves, but she suspects it will be hours or days rather than weeks or months. After she assures him once again that the Danvers children are fine, J’onn thanks her for watching them.

Since the kids seem restless, he takes them to a training room and lets them work out all their energy. For Alex in particular, he organizes some supervised destructive fun. He lets her be part of the planning process as he needs to exercise her body  _ and  _ her mind. 

J’onn lets them play until they get tired, and when they leave the training room, he has Alex’s hand in his and Kara on his shoulders.

Suddenly Kara’s legs start kicking wildly, thwacking across his chest. 

“Kara.” J’onn grabs her legs to make her stop, but she struggles against him. “Kara, stop.”

“She’s hungry,” Alex translates without missing a beat, and J’onn realizes they just passed a turn that would take them to the cafeteria.  __

J’onn makes a u-turn. Lunch time it is.

 

* * *

 

After Alex and Kara’s nap, J’onn takes them back out into the bullpen. Kara ends up on Lucy’s lap, and Alex approaches Vasquez and whispers something into her ear. 

Vasquez nods and then approaches J’onn. “Sir?” 

“Yes, Agent Vasquez?”

“Permission to play  _ Galaga  _ with Alex.”

Alex tugs on Vasquez’s pant leg and whispers, “You forgot the magic word.”

To her credit, Vasquez doesn’t balk. She merely adds a requisite, “Please.”

J’onn checks to make sure Vasquez has completed all her duties for the time being. It makes him feel like a father making sure his teenage daughter has completed her chores before she can go hang out with friends. Only the Danvers have been de-aged, but the way their presence changes everyone else’s behavior makes him feel like he’s parenting everyone else as well. 

Vasquez responds to each query with a satisfactory, “yes, sir,” so he lets her go.

Winn shoots Alex and Vasquez a jealous look and mutters, “Unfair.”

But it’s not long before Alex gets bored of  _ Galaga _ and ends up between Vasquez and Winn, where she resumes asking about all the screens and buttons. There’s about an hour of relative and peace and calm before… 

“What about this one?” Alex asks and stabs her finger at the button in question.

“No, wait!” Winn exclaims, “Not that one!”

“Uh oh,” Alex whispers.

Uh oh is right. Alarms start to blare from the PA system, announcing all sorts of warnings, though none of the emergency protocols actually kick in. Kara whimpers and curls up in Lucy’s lap, pushing her hands in over her ears. Lucy tries to provide additional shielding by placing her hands over Kara’s. 

Winn kills the program as quickly as he can, all the while rambling about it being an experimental new alarm system, and J’onn announces to the building that it was a false alarm.

J’onn takes a look at Kara curled up against Lucy and says, “Alex, time-out.”

“I just pushed the button,” Alex says sadly. Her words aren’t a protest. She knows she did something wrong, but there’s a certain amount of woe-is-me in her voice as she hadn’t known what would happen.

“You’re right,” J’onn says to Alex before turning to Winn. “Agent Schott, you’re in time-out too.”

“What?” Winn sputters as Lucy, Vasquez, and the others snicker.

“You should have known better than to keep a program like that open around children.” J’onn bends down to pick up Kara, who is toddling over. He shifts his attention back to Alex and Winn and affixes them with a stern look. “My office. Now.”

For a brief moment, he wonders if he looks any less intimidating with a tiny Kryptonian in his arms. 

That doesn’t seem to be the case as Alex and Winn follow him to his office. J’onn makes sure the two sit in adjacent corners opposite him, facing the wall, and then sets a timer.

Kara goes over to Alex to keep her company. Technically J’onn shouldn’t allow it, but he likes it when Kara looks after Alex. He knows that Kara reciprocates Alex’s love in equal measure, but as the big sister, Alex is typically the one to show her care and concern.

He smiles as they commence what appears to be a Kryptonian version of pattycake.

After three minutes, J’onn says, “Okay, Alex, you’re done.” 

Alex gets to her feet, but when J’onn sees Winn follow suit, he asks, “Where do you think you’re going, Agent Schott?”

Winn points to the adjacent corner where Alex is now helping Kara up. “You said—”

“It’s one minute per every year of your age, so sit back down. You still have more than twenty minutes left.”

J’onn doesn’t think he’s being unfair. Winn is older and should’ve known better. J’onn is merely scaling the punishment appropriately.

Winn groans but doesn’t protest, plopping back down to the floor. Alex and Kara make their way over to him and commence to teach Winn Kryptonian pattycake.  

J’onn doesn’t say anything and wonders if he’s a pushover.

 

* * *

 

After the Danvers return to their adult selves, Kara chirps another happy birthday wish to him and carries on as if nothing out of the ordinary happened. Alex, on the other hand, avoids him whenever possible and has trouble looking him in the eye when they’re together. He doesn’t need psychic powers to know that Alex is embarrassed by whatever transpired during the past twenty-four hours. He wants to tell her it’s okay, but he figures that would add to her embarrassment. It’s better to leave her be and let everything run its course.

J’onn is in his office when there’s a knock at his door.

“Do you have a minute? I have something for you,” Lucy says as she enters.

“What is it?” J’onn asks as she hands him a USB drive.

“Plug it in.”

J’onn inserts the USB into the proper port and waits for the contents to load. He expects to see something work-related, but instead of intel or a mission summary, thumbnails of nearly a hundred media files load in his file browser.

Lucy explains, “When I had Winn back up my pictures and videos from yesterday, I had him put a set on the drive for you. I figured you might want them.” 

J’onn opens an image viewer and scrolls through pictures of him, toddler Alex, and baby Kara: Alex hugging Kara, who had just solar-flared and is sitting on his knee; Alex holding Kara’s hand as they trail after him; Kara lying her head against his shoulder and Alex sitting on his lap, both of them asleep.

J’onn swallows down his emotions and says, “Thank you, Lucy.”

“Happy belated birthday, J’onn.” 


End file.
